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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24538009">in this world, in another</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/unowenowl/pseuds/unowenowl'>unowenowl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Hollow (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>I wish I could tell you what this is, M/M, Stargazing, and mild existential crisis, besides reedam being cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:40:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24538009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/unowenowl/pseuds/unowenowl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's easier to consider "What if in another world..." when you know there's another world where things are different.<br/>Does it matter?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Reeve (The Hollow)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in this world, in another</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes so...I genuinely don't know what I plan to do. I spent yesterday writing this and then this morning writing something else related to the Hollow, then I thought that maybe it doesn't really work..</p><p>But I'm posting this anyway. Meant to be cute, and I also want to add some more to the Reeve/Adam tag. Hope you'll enjoy it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kai's house has a place on the roof has a designated spot for stargazing. Of course.</p><p> </p><p>Adam feels both a bit incredulous and irritated at this level of richness for a few seconds, until Kai says that he used to visit this place when his parents used to fight. And that he had to bring a cabinet for snacks and quilts because he'd come by almost every night. He says this cheerfully, like it might genuinely be no big deal.</p><p> </p><p>He sobers up. One cannot have all and, he thinks now, he'd rather have his loving parents than live in a house this big, with people who care little about his actual well-being.</p><p> </p><p>(Okay, a bit of more money <em>wouldn't</em> hurt. But Kai has no problem paying for the gang when they go out eating or buying  them little things that remind him of his friends when he goes out shopping or, in this case, share his house and favourite rooftop place for stargazing. So it's cool.)</p><p> </p><p>For a while, they just sit on the blankets that Kai has spread around, eat chips and salsa and talk. About dreams they've had or films, or books, or new videogames. (And despite the fact that this is a digital version of their world, it still gets updated pretty regularly with new stuff. Adam wonders if it's the developers doing updates or if maybe Weirdy just cares enough to  try to modify this offline world. It doesn't really matter, he knows, but he wonders still.) Mira knows most of the constellations, of course, but apparently so does Vanessa. "My grandpa taught me," she says, and leaves it like that. All of them talk about the stars, about how stupid some names are, or the mythology behind it.</p><p> </p><p>And then there's mostly quiet, staring at the stars. Mira and Kai still discuss, but it's in whispers. Vanessa is lost deep in thoughts, staring at some point on the sky. And Reeves…</p><p> </p><p>He's looking down at him.</p><p>Adam gulps.</p><p> </p><p>He's laying on one blanket, his head in Reeves' lap. His brain has been half-distracted, in fact, the entire time he'd been like this. He hadn't exactly intended to end up like this. Like…consciously. His arms were hurting and he just jokingly plopped his head on his boyfriend's lap, fully expecting that he'd just be thrown off with a "stop fooling around" smirk and they could laugh about it. Instead, Reeve just raised one eyebrow, smirking and spread his legs a bit to have him lay more comfortably. Adam's brain just stopped working there for a while, so really, it's not his fault if he cannot tell with accuracy what everyone's been talking about.</p><p> </p><p>And now Reeve is staring at him as if he's looking for something.</p><p>"What." Adam whispers. He means it to be a question, but forgets the inflexion. He's too busy staring into Reeve's eyes.</p><p>"Nothing," the other boy says. "Just looking at my handsome boyfriend."</p><p>Adam chokes on nothing. He can feel his blush deepening on his face.</p><p>"Thanks," he manages, breathless. He can see Reeve's smug grin widen a little and he huffs. Only he cannot genuinely be mad at his teasing, because Reeve is also handsome and Adam could stare at him all day.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, wait, he can tell him so. "You're handsome too," he whispers back.</p><p>Reeve looks taken aback for only a second, before smiling fondly and leaning down to kiss him quickly. Adam's heart skips a beat. He knows Reeve isn't big on PDA.</p><p> </p><p>When everything ended, when they'd gotten safely back to their town, without any more literal fears to follow them, Reeve had pulled Adam away. Had told him, <em>"I'd been flirting with you for two years before I left the team. How the hell did you come to the conclusion that I don't like you? I just thought you're not interested!" "How exactly have you been flirting?" </em>and then it turned out that two people who have known each other for as long as Reeve and Adam have are not exactly the most reliable source to tell if they are flirting with each other or not. (<em>Mira had known, of course, but that's not relevant.)</em> In the end, it didn't matter so much, because Reeve asked directly "Be my boyfriend," and Adam said yes and hugged him.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the fact they've been dating for almost two weeks now, he's still not completely used to the idea. A silly part of him fears that he'll wake up one day and everything will have been a dream.</p><p> </p><p>Even if they've confirmed early that this is not a dream. But he went from barely daring to imagine what it might be like to hold Reeve's hand to doing that, to not having him in his life anymore beyond 'the one who left', to actually going out with him and doing all the things he'd dreamed of doing.</p><p> </p><p>And kissing. Lots of kissing. With stars as their witnesses.</p><p> </p><p>He contemplates a plan in which perhaps he could send everyone but him and Reeve downstairs to play videogames or something, while they might get some practice on this wonderful idea of making out under the shining stars. Sounds poetic, sort of the thing that would be in the romantic movies his grandmother used to make him watch with her. Also he just really wants to snog his boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p>But right as he opens his mouth, Vanessa speaks.</p><p> </p><p>"Guys, do you ever think about the other world?"</p><p> </p><p>Aaand…the moment passed. Adam feels disappointed only for a few seconds, before looking at Vanesa and noticing that she looks small and withdrawn again.</p><p> </p><p>It is Kai who replies to her, who gets closer and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.</p><p>"What's this about?"</p><p> </p><p>She takes a deep breath before replying. "I don't know, I was thinking about the fact that I'm… grateful to be here with you all. And then I thought about how I almost didn't. And then how the real world Vanessa doesn't get all of this. About how I was, and about how likely I still am, outside there. Petty and vindictive and only caring about myself. And unhappy, honestly."</p><p> </p><p>"And how it took Skeet dying and almost killing everyone and really making our lives miserable for a while for me to notice that and I wonder what I'll have to do to in real life to see it. Or if I ever see it, really. Or will I just…get worse."</p><p> </p><p>"Vanessa…" Mira whispers.</p><p> </p><p>Adam looks back at Reeve, finds him staring again at him. He wonders if he's thinking about the same thing Adam's thinking. That in that other life, they're likely not speaking. That other Adam won the game and they'll probably fight about it for a while, goad each other every time they see each other, not speak about the loneliness each feels without having the other in their life, the betrayal each feels being too deep. It was not easy to get to this point where they are now and it won't be easy in that other world either. That it's quite likely they won't get to that point, in fact.</p><p> </p><p>The potential of an universe where he's not around Reeve is too saddening to contemplate for too long.</p><p> </p><p>"Yea, but…we're here," Adam tells her and she looks back at him.</p><p>"Like…it doesn't really matter what we do out there. It's like a parallel universe. We can only control what we do here. We've got this one life, we might as well enjoy it."</p><p> </p><p>"For what's worth," Mira says, " You've shown remorse and potential to do better. They are within you. So perhaps the other Vanessa isn't so doomed, because she has that potential too."</p><p> </p><p>Vanessa smiles, "Thanks guys."</p><p> </p><p>A bit later, as he starts falling asleep on the music playing in the background on Kai's phone, Adam thinks that this life is not so bad. It's uncertain, sure, but not bad. He feels Reeve's fingers playing with his hair. It feels nice.</p>
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